International Student Wins Intensive English Scholarship

During the last week of spring semester 2013, the Intensive English Language Institute (IELI) at Utah State University awarded the Osamu Fujiwara Scholarship for $500 to Bertol Kensese, a student from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Bertol plans to major in mechanical engineering with an emphasis in aerospace engineering.

The Fujiwara scholarship is presented annually to a student with a 3.3 GPA or higher who has completed all English courses in Level IV of USU’s Intensive English Language Institute and has been accepted by an undergraduate department on campus. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of intercultural involvement, academic scholarship and financial need.

Osamu Fujiwara was an alumnus of USU who came to Logan to study in the 1950s before the Intensive English Language Institute was established, according to its current director Ann Roemer. George Meyer, a professor in the language department at that time, mentored the Japanese students, who knew little English.

After graduating from USU, Fujiwara was employed by the Shell Oil Company in Japan. He retired from his position as CEO of the Monsanto Chemical Company in Japan in 2003 and now resides in Tokyo.

“Because Mr.Fujiwara worked in the USU dairy barn and the university cafeteria, he is aware of the financial difficulties facing many international students,” Roemer said. “He gives his scholarship in honor of George Meyer, former international student advisor, and Glenda Cole, former director of IELI, for their outstanding leadership and enthusiasm in supporting international students at USU.”

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